Laundry machine

ABSTRACT

A laundry dryer includes a housing, a drum, a roller, and a shield. The drum is disposed within the housing and is configured to rotate relative to the housing. The roller is rotatably secured internally within the housing and to the housing. The roller is configured to support a lower end of the drum and to rotate collectively with the drum. The shield has a base plate disposed between the roller and the housing and a plurality of auxiliary plates protruding outward from a lower end of the base plate. The plates of the plurality of auxiliary plates are aligned in an array that extends radially about a lower end of the roller. The plates of the plurality of auxiliary plates form a tray along the lower end of the roller to catch debris from the roller.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to laundry treating appliances such as a laundry dryer or washing machine.

BACKGROUND

Laundry appliances, such as clothes washers, dryers, refreshers, and non-aqueous systems, may include a rotating drum (or basket) for receiving items to be laundered or dried. The drum is housed in an appliance body, where the body has a door for providing access to the drum.

SUMMARY

A laundry dryer includes a housing, a drum, a roller, and a shield. The drum is disposed within the housing and is configured to rotate relative to the housing. The roller is rotatably secured internally within the housing and to the housing. The roller is configured to support a lower end of the drum and to rotate collectively with the drum. The shield has a base plate disposed between the roller and the housing and a plurality of auxiliary plates protruding outward from a lower end of the base plate. The plates of the plurality of auxiliary plates are aligned in an array that extends radially about a lower end of the roller. The plates of the plurality of auxiliary plates form a tray along the lower end of the roller to catch debris from the roller.

A roller shield includes a primary plate and a plurality of secondary plates. The primary plate is configured to engage a laundry machine framework to secure the roller shield to a laundry machine. Each plate of the plurality of secondary plates protrudes outward from primary plate. The plates of the plurality of secondary plates are configured to align in an array that extends radially about a lower end of a laundry machine drum support roller. The plates of the plurality of secondary plates are also configured form a tray along the lower end of the laundry machine drum support roller to catch debris from the laundry machine drum support roller.

A laundry machine includes a drum support roller and a shield. The drum support roller is rotatably secured to a bulkhead via a shaft. The shield has a primary plate disposed between the drum support roller and the bulkhead. The shield also has secondary plates protruding outward from a lower end of the primary plate. The secondary plates are aligned in an array that extends radially about a lower end of the drum support roller. The secondary plates are collectively configured to catch debris from the roller.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a laundry treating appliance in the form of a clothes dryer;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the clothes dryer with a portion of the clothes dryer cut away to illustrate roller assemblies;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a front bulkhead of the clothes dryer, an air duct, and a blower assembly;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of one of the roller assemblies having a shield;

FIG. 5 is a perspective front view of the roller assembly and the shield, each attached to the front bulkhead;

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the shield;

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of the shield; and

FIG. 8 is a bottom perspective view of the shield.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein. It is to be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples and other embodiments may take various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features could be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the embodiments. As those of ordinary skill in the art will understand, various features illustrated and described with reference to any one of the figures may be combined with features illustrated in one or more other figures to produce embodiments that are not explicitly illustrated or described. The combinations of features illustrated provide representative embodiments for typical applications. Various combinations and modifications of the features consistent with the teachings of this disclosure, however, could be desired for particular applications or implementations.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a laundry treating appliance 10 in the form of a clothes dryer 14 having multiple roller assemblies 12 according to one embodiment of the invention. The roller assemblies 12 may be referred to as drum support rollers or rollers. As illustrated herein, the laundry treating appliance 10 may be a clothes dryer 14. While the roller assemblies 12 may be shown and described for use with a clothes dryer 14, the laundry treating appliance 10 may be another type of laundry treating appliance, non-limiting examples of which include a dispensing dryer, a washing machine, a combination washing machine and dryer, and a tumbling refreshing and/or revitalizing machine.

The clothes dryer 14 may include a housing or cabinet 16, a drum 18 disposed within the cabinet 16 and supported by and in contact with the multiple roller assemblies 12, and a motor 20. The cabinet 16 may define an internal cavity or interior 22 of the clothes dryer 14, and may be defined by a front wall 24, a rear wall 53, a pair of side walls 28 supporting a top wall 30. The drum 18 may be located within the interior 22 of the clothes dryer 14. The drum 18 defines a laundry treating chamber 32. The drum 18 may be rotatable about an axis of rotation relative to the cabinet 16. The motor 20 may be operably coupled to the drum 18 by an electrical connector 34 such as an electrical cable to provide electrical power to the drum 18 to rotate the drum 18 about the axis of rotation according to a pre-programmed operational cycle. The multiple roller assemblies 12 may be in contact with at least a portion of an exterior surface 36 of the rotatable drum 18 to support the drum 18. More specifically, the roller assemblies 12 may support a lower end 37 of the drum 18. The roller assemblies 12 may be configured to rotate collectively with the drum 18.

The clothes dryer 14 may further include a user interface 38, a door 40, and a dispensing drawer 42. The user interface 38 may include a controller 44 and a parameter selector 46, which may be in the form of a knob. The controller 44 may be operably coupled with the parameter selector 46 to selectively operate a pre-programmed operational cycle. The door 40 may be hingedly coupled with the cabinet 16 and configured to selectively close an opening to the laundry treating chamber 32. The dispensing drawer 42 may be operably coupled with the controller 44 such that the dispensing drawer 42 may selectively dispense a pre-determined dose of at least one treating chemistry according to the operational cycle selected by a user.

While illustrated as one controller, the controller 44 may be part of a larger control system and may be controlled by various other controllers throughout the clothes dryer 14. It should therefore be understood that the controller 44 and one or more other controllers can collectively be referred to as a “controller” that controls various actuators in response to signals from various sensors to control functions the clothes dryer 14. The controller 44 may include a microprocessor or central processing unit (CPU) in communication with various types of computer readable storage devices or media. Computer readable storage devices or media may include volatile and nonvolatile storage in read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), and keep-alive memory (KAM), for example. KAM is a persistent or non-volatile memory that may be used to store various operating variables while the CPU is powered down. Computer-readable storage devices or media may be implemented using any of a number of known memory devices such as PROMs (programmable read-only memory), EPROMs (electrically PROM), EEPROMs (electrically erasable PROM), flash memory, or any other electric, magnetic, optical, or combination memory devices capable of storing data, some of which represent executable instructions, used by the controller 44 in controlling the clothes dryer 14.

Control logic or functions performed by the controller 44 may be represented by flow charts or similar diagrams in one or more figures. These figures provide representative control strategies and/or logic that may be implemented using one or more processing strategies such as event-driven, interrupt-driven, multi-tasking, multi-threading, and the like. As such, various steps or functions illustrated may be performed in the sequence illustrated, in parallel, or in some cases omitted. Although not always explicitly illustrated, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that one or more of the illustrated steps or functions may be repeatedly performed depending upon the particular processing strategy being used. Similarly, the order of processing is not necessarily required to achieve the features and advantages described herein, but is provided for ease of illustration and description. The control logic may be implemented primarily in software executed by a microprocessor-based controller, such as controller 44. Of course, the control logic may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware in one or more controllers depending upon the particular application. When implemented in software, the control logic may be provided in one or more computer-readable storage devices or media having stored data representing code or instructions executed by a computer to control the vehicle or its subsystems. The computer-readable storage devices or media may include one or more of a number of known physical devices which utilize electric, magnetic, and/or optical storage to keep executable instructions and associated calibration information, operating variables, and the like.

Laundry articles 48 may be positioned inside the drum 18 of the clothes dryer 14. Then, the door 40 to the laundry treating chamber 32 may be closed and the operational cycle may be performed to treat or dry the laundry articles 48. When the drum 18 rotates about the axis of rotation according to the operational cycle, the roller assemblies 12 may also rotate about axles or shafts 50 through contact with the exterior surface 36 of the drum 18. The shafts 50 may secure the roller assemblies 12 to the cabinet 16. The roller assemblies 12 may be disposed internally within the internal cavity or interior 22. More specifically, the shafts 50 may rotatably secure the roller assemblies 12 to a framework of the cabinet 16. Even more specifically, the shafts 50 may secure the roller assemblies 12 to panels or bulkheads 54 that provide structural support to the cabinet. The bulkheads 54 may be front and rear bulkheads. The front bulkhead 54 may defines an opening 56 to the laundry treating chamber 32.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the clothes dryer 14, with a portion of the clothes dryer 14 cut away to show the multiple roller assemblies 12. As illustrated, each of the roller assemblies 12 may have a support roller 52 received by one of the shafts 50. One end of each shaft 50 may be operably coupled with a portion of the cabinet 16 such that the roller assembly 12 may rotate and/or support the rotatable drum 18 while the exterior surface 36 of the drum 18 contacts the roller assembly 12 and while the shaft 50 remains stationary. As illustrated, the support roller 52 may be positioned such that the support roller 52 may be received in a groove 51 that may be formed on the exterior surface 36 of the rotatable drum 18.

As illustrated, two roller assemblies 12 are disposed with a predetermined spacing to a rear wall 53 of the cabinet 16 to support the rotatable drum 18. The roller assemblies illustrated in FIG. 2 are secured to the rear bulkhead 54. Additional roller assemblies 12 may be secured to the front bulkhead 54 (e.g., see FIG. 3 ) and may be arranged to engage the exterior surface 36 of the drum 18 in a similar manner as illustrated in FIG. 2 . The arrangement of the roller assemblies 12 on the front and rear bulkheads 48 may be mirror images relative to each other. In another embodiment, any number of roller assemblies may be operably coupled to a portion of the cabinet 16, such as the front wall 24, the rear wall 53, or either side walls 28 of the clothes dryer 14 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 .

Referring to FIG. 3 , the front bulkhead 54, a blower assembly 58, and an air duct 60 are illustrated. The drum 18 is rotatably supported on the roller assemblies between the front and rear bulkheads 54. The front bulkhead 54 may be located between the drum 18 and the front wall 24, and may be fabricated of stamped sheet metal. The rear bulkhead 54 may be located between the drum 18 and the rear wall, and may also be fabricated of stamped sheet metal. The air duct 60 may include a grill 62 that is adjacent to the laundry treating chamber 32 such that the air duct 60 establishes fluid commination between the laundry treating chamber 32 and the blower assembly 58.

The blower assembly 58 is configured draw air from the laundry treating chamber 32 and exhaust the air to the ambient surroundings. The blower 58 assembly may also be powered by the motor 20. One or more belts may transfer power from the motor 20 to the blower assembly 58 and the drum 18. The air within the treating chamber 32 may have been heated via a heat exchanger prior to entering the laundry treating chamber 32 in order to dry the laundry articles 48. The heat exchanger may be disposed within internal cavity or interior 22, which may increase the temperature within the internal cavity or interior 22. Under significantly hot conditions, the support rollers 52 may be susceptible to melting, which may be an issue if the molten material were to collect on top of the blower assembly. Therefore, one or more shields 64 may be disposed about or more of the roller assemblies 12 to collect the potentially molten material from the support rollers 52 and other debris.

Referring to FIGS. 4-8 , one of the one or more shields 64 are illustrated in further detail. The shields 64 may also be referred to as roller shields. Although only one shield 64 is depicted and described herein, it should be understood that a shield of similar structure may be disposed about any of roller assemblies 12 described herein. The shield 64 has a base or primary plate 66 that may be disposed between the housing or cabinet 16 and one of the roller assemblies 12. More specifically, the primary plate 66 may be disposed between the framework of the cabinet 16 and one of the roller assemblies 12. Even more specifically, the primary plate 66 may be disposed between the one of the bulkheads 54 and one of the roller assemblies 12.

The primary plate 66 engages the housing or cabinet 16 to secure the shield 64 the laundry treating appliance 10. More specifically, the primary plate 66 engages the framework of the cabinet 16 or one the bulkheads 54 to secure the shield 64 the laundry treating appliance 10. The cabinet 16 (or more specifically the framework of the cabinet 16 or one the bulkheads 54) defines orifices 68. The primary plate 66 includes hooks 70 that engage the cabinet 16 (or more specifically the framework of the cabinet 16 or one the bulkheads 54) within the orifices 68 to secure the shield 64 to the cabinet 16 (or more specifically the framework of the cabinet 16 or one the bulkheads 54). The primary plate 66 defines a notch 72 that provides clearance for the axle or shaft 50 that secures the respective roller assembly 12 associated with the shield 64 to the cabinet 16 (or more specifically the framework of the cabinet 16 or one the bulkheads 54). One hook 70 may be disposed on each side of the notch 72 such that he hooks 70 straddle the notch 72.

The shield 64 has a plurality of auxiliary or secondary plates 74 that protrude outward from primary plate 66. More specifically, the plurality of secondary plates 74 may protrude outward from a lower end 76 of the primary plate 66. The plates of the plurality of secondary plates 74 are aligned in an array that is configured to extend radially about a lower end 78 of the respective roller assembly 12. A center 79 of the array formed by the plurality of secondary plates 74 may be offset from a bottom dead center 81 of the roller assembly 12.

The plurality of secondary plates 74 may collectively form a tray 80 along the lower end 78 of the respective roller assembly 12. The tray 80 may be configured catch debris from the respective roller assembly 12, which may include molten material from the support roller 52 in the event that the support roller 52 overheats and melts. The shield 64 may also act as a heat shield that directs heat away from the respective roller assembly 12 in order to prevent the support roller 52 from being damaged or melting.

The plates of the plurality of secondary plates 74 may extend from the primary plate 66 in a direction that is substantially parallel with an axis of rotation 82 of the respective roller assembly 12. The plates of the plurality of secondary plates 74 may also extend from the primary plate 66 in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the primary plate 66. Substantially parallel may refer to any incremental value that is between exactly parallel and 15° from exactly parallel. Substantially perpendicular may refer to any incremental value that is between exactly perpendicular and 15° from exactly perpendicular. The plates of the plurality of secondary plates 74 may also form an open polygon.

The primary plate 66 defines an orifice 84. A may fastener 86 may extend through the orifice 84 and engage the cabinet 16 (or more specifically the framework of the cabinet 16 or one the bulkheads 54) to secure the primary plate 66 to cabinet 16 (or more specifically the framework of the cabinet 16 or one the bulkheads 54). The cabinet 16 (or more specifically the framework of the cabinet 16 or one the bulkheads 54) may define a secondary orifice 88 that is sized to receive and engage the fastener 86. More specifically, the fastener 86 and the secondary orifice 88 may be a self-tapping fastener and an orifice sized to receive and engage such a self-tapping fastener, respectively.

The plates of the plurality of secondary plates 74 may each include a primary or base portion 90 that protrudes outward from the primary plate 66. The plates of the plurality of secondary plates 84 may also include a secondary or extension portion 92 that extends upward at an angle from an opposing end the base portion 90 relative to the primary plate 66. The angle between each base portion 90 and each extension portion 92 of each plate of the plurality of secondary plates 74 may range between 90° and 180°, but may preferably be an obtuse angle that is less than 90° and greater than 180°.

At least one of the plates of the plurality of secondary plates 74 may overlap at least one adjacent plate of the plurality of secondary plates 74 in order to close any gaps that may be defined between the adjacent plates of the plurality of secondary plates 74. This prevents debris that is captured by the tray 80 from falling out of the tray 80 from between the gaps defined between the adjacent plates of the plurality of secondary plates 74. Some plates of the plurality of secondary plates 74 may include tabs or flaps 94 that are bent relative to the remainder of the respective plate so that the tabs or flaps 94 are orientated to extend in the same direction as an adjacent plate of the plurality of secondary plates 74. The tabs or flaps 94 may also bridge of close any of the gaps that may be defined between any of the adjacent plates of the plurality of secondary plates 74.

It should be understood that the designations of first, second, third, fourth, etc. for any component, state, or condition described herein may be rearranged in the claims so that they are in chronological order with respect to the claims. Furthermore, it should be understood that any component, state, or condition described herein that does not have a numerical designation may be given a designation of first, second, third, fourth, etc. in the claims if one or more of the specific component, state, or condition are claimed.

The words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. As previously described, the features of various embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments that may not be explicitly described or illustrated. While various embodiments could have been described as providing advantages or being preferred over other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one or more desired characteristics, those of ordinary skill in the art recognize that one or more features or characteristics may be compromised to achieve desired overall system attributes, which depend on the specific application and implementation. As such, embodiments described as less desirable than other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one or more characteristics are not outside the scope of the disclosure and may be desirable for particular applications. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A laundry dryer comprising: a housing; a drum disposed within the housing and configured to rotate relative to the housing; a roller rotatably secured internally within the housing and to the housing, wherein the roller is configured to (i) support a lower end of the drum and (ii) rotate collectively with the drum; and a shield having (i) a base plate disposed between the roller and the housing and (ii) a plurality of auxiliary plates protruding outward from a lower end of the base plate, wherein the plates of the plurality of auxiliary plates are (i) aligned in an array that extends radially about a lower end of the roller and (ii) form a tray along the lower end of the roller to catch debris from the roller.
 2. The laundry dryer of claim 1, wherein the plates of the plurality of auxiliary plates are substantially perpendicular to the base plate.
 3. The laundry dryer of claim 1, wherein the plates of the plurality of auxiliary plates each include (i) a primary portion that protrudes outward from the lower end of the base plate and (ii) a secondary portion that extends upward at an angle from an opposing end the primary portion relative to the lower end of the base plate.
 4. The laundry dryer of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plates of the plurality of auxiliary plates overlaps at least one adjacent plate of the plurality of auxiliary plates.
 5. The laundry dryer of claim 1, wherein the housing defines orifices, and the base plate includes hooks that engage the housing within the orifices to secure the shield to the housing.
 6. The laundry dryer of claim 5, wherein the base plate defines a notch that provides clearance for a shaft that is secured to the housing, and wherein the roller is secured to and configured to rotate about the shaft.
 7. The laundry dryer of claim 6, wherein the hooks straddle the notch.
 8. The laundry dryer of claim 1, wherein the plates of the plurality of auxiliary plates form an open polygon.
 9. The laundry dryer of claim 1 further comprising a fastener, wherein the base plate defines an orifice, and wherein the fastener extends through the orifice and engages the housing to secure base plate to housing.
 10. The laundry dryer of claim 1, wherein a center of the array is offset from a bottom dead center of the roller.
 11. A roller shield comprising: a primary plate configured to engage a laundry machine framework to secure the roller shield to a laundry machine; and a plurality of secondary plates protruding outward from primary plate, wherein the plates of the plurality of secondary plates are configured to (i) align in an array that extends radially about a lower end of a laundry machine drum support roller and (ii) form a tray along the lower end of the laundry machine drum support roller to catch debris from the laundry machine drum support roller.
 12. The roller shield of claim 11, wherein the plates of the plurality of secondary plates are substantially perpendicular to the primary plate.
 13. The roller shield of claim 11, wherein at least one of the plates of the plurality of secondary plates overlaps at least one adjacent plate of the plurality of secondary plates.
 14. The roller shield of claim 11, wherein the primary plate includes hooks that are configured to engage the laundry machine framework to secure the roller shield to the laundry machine.
 15. The roller shield of claim 14, wherein the primary plate defines a notch that provides clearance for a roller shaft.
 16. The roller shield of claim 15, wherein the hooks straddle the notch.
 17. The roller shield of claim 15, wherein the plates of the plurality of secondary plates each include (i) a base portion that protrudes outward from the primary plate and (ii) an extension portion that extends upward at an angle from an opposing end the base portion relative to the primary plate.
 18. A laundry machine comprising: a drum support roller rotatably secured to a bulkhead via a shaft; and a shield having (i) a primary plate disposed between the drum support roller and the bulkhead and (ii) secondary plates protruding outward from a lower end of the primary plate, wherein the secondary plates are (i) aligned in an array that extends radially about a lower end of the drum support roller and (ii) are collectively configured to catch debris from the drum support roller.
 19. The laundry machine of claim 18, wherein the primary plate includes hooks that are configured to engage the bulkhead to secure the shield to the laundry machine, the primary plate defines a notch that provides clearance for the shaft, and the hooks straddle the notch.
 20. The laundry machine of claim 18, wherein each of the secondary plates include (i) a base portion that protrudes outward from the primary plate and (ii) an extension portion that extends upward at an angle from an opposing end the base portion relative to the primary plate. 